Method of manufacturing food products



April 2, 1935. D ARNOLD METHOD-OF MANUFACTURING FOOD PRODUCTS Filed March 24, 1932 Enventor M 2! C(ttornegs Apr. 2, 1935;. I 1,996,395

UNITED, STATES PATENT OFFICE I ME'rnon oF grggfggicf rmnsqroon Gerald 1). Arnold, Wanwatosa, Wis. Application March 24, 1932, Serial No. 600.953

This invention relates to improvements in a to such an extent that even in the absence of its method of manufacturing food products. moisture it will serve as a binder to enable the It is the primary object of the invention to promixed ingredients to be pressed into blocks or vide novel and improved means not only for cakes notwithstanding the dehydration of the 5 producing a suitable admixture of molasses or material to a degree such that, except for the 5 the like with forage foods, butalso for facilitating heat, the molases would not be substantially adthe dehydration of the forage foods and material hesive and would not serve to retain the form admixed therewith. of such cakes or blocks.

The utility of food mixtures containing mo- Finally, it is a very important objective of the lasses is well known, but the difiiculties of mixing present invention to employ the molasses as an 10 molasses withother food products in commercial important element in the dehydration process. practice have heretofore been great due to the Commercial molasses contains only a small percharacteristics of the molasses and the dificulty centage of water and is very hygroscopic, being inhandling the mixture. Inaccordance with the capable of absorbing from the atmosphere or present invention it is preferred that the molasses any adjacent wet surfaces, sumcient moisture to 15 .shallbe mixed with green produce of a higher dissolve itself. One of the problems involved'in moisture content than the molasses because it is all dehydration of green produce relates to the found that a very much more thorough mixture extraction of moisture from the stems and relacan be easily efiected when the produce is green tively tough portions of the produce without emthan is possible if the produce is already dehyploying heat so excessive as to scorch or desiccate 20 drated. the lighter leaf portions of the produce. I have Not only can a better mixture be efiected, but found that by exposing the green produce to the a greater quantity of molasses can be incorporaaction of molasses for a certain period prelimited in a wet product and then dehydrated than nary to'the use of heat for dehydration, the moin a dry product without reducing the mixture losses will penetrate the fiber of the produce and to a sticky mass which cannot properly be tend to open the pores of the produce and to draw handled and will not keep without fermentation. to the surface the moisture therein contained. On Furthermore, the admixture of the molasses with the surface this moisture is readily exposed to the a. wet product results in better distribution of heat and to the air employed in the dehydrating '30 the molasses through produce andamore uniform apparatus and is evaporated with greater unidegree of dehydration in the completed mixture. formity and with greater ease, with less heat and In the second place, it is preferred that the adwith consequent less alteration of the chemical mixture of molasses with the produce or like maconstituents of the produce than has heretofore terial be efiected in the course of handling such been possible. material for other purposes, whereby-no addi- The drawing discloses diagrammatically ap- 35 tional apparatus is required and the admixture paratus whereby the process embodying this inis easily, speedily and economically achieved. vention may be practiced.

In the third place, this invention contemplates Figure 1 is a view in perspective, showing apthe preferred admixture of molasses and green paratus for chopping produce, admixing molasses 4o produce while these component ingredients are therewith, permitting the action of the molasses 0 moving freely through space out of contact with on the produce for a predetermined time interval the apparatus handling the mixture and under in a continuous operation, delivering the mixture circumstances such that there is little or no op to dehydrating apparatus, and dehydrating, deportunity for the molasses to encounter any parts livering, and sacking the product.

of the apparatus upon which they might become Figure 2 is a view partially in side elevation and 45' adheren 1 010g Otherwise h p r th funopartially'in longitudinal section, showing means tioning of the mechanism. for the mechanical admixture of produce and In the fourth place, the present invention conmolasses preliminary to the delivery of the mixtemplates the dehydration of the mixture in the ture to the conveying and dehydrating mechapresence of both heat and air flow and under nism disclosed in Fig. 1. 50 partial vacuum, the rate of air movement being Figure 3 shows, in vertical axial section, a form suflicient to carry ofi .the moisture, and the heat of press which maybe used in converting the combeing used not merely for the purpose of evaporpleted product into cakes. ating the moisture, but also for the purpose of Like parts are identified by the same reference 65 softening the molasses constituent of the mixture characters throughout thefseveral views.

induced under partial vacuum by a suction fan 1 at the outlet of the apparatus, which discharges into a collector 8 from 'which the material issues either into a sacking device 9 or a brick forming device such as that shown at N in Fig. 3. In the latter case a pair of pistons H reciprocate al-.

- ternatively in a well known manner in cylinders I2, the outlet portions of which are restricted to compact beneath the piston the material entering the cylinders through the bifurcated delivery ducts l3.

The apparatus already described is of conventional, or previously known and commercially available design.

It is preferred that the produce'to be dehydrated shall be comminuted, as by a feed cutter. Comminution exposes the cut ends of the stalks and leaves and thereby facilitates extraction of moisture from the produce. It also increases the surface area to receive the molasses used in accordance with the present invention.

At I I have shown a feed cutting device to which the green produce is delivered at IS. The cut produce is thrown or projected from the comminuted mechanism by the cutter in the form of a spray as shown at H. The pipes 18 and nozzles I9 supply molasses under pressure in the form of a fine jet or spray which encounters the particles of comminuted produce while the latter are in.free space following their delivery from the feed cutter. Because of the arrangement disclosed, the contact of all the molasses with the comminuted green produce is virtually assured, and there is little possibility that any of the molasses will reach immediately any portion of the mechanism.

The molasses coated particles of green produce fall on an apron conveyor 20 which is of suiiicient length and moves sufflciently slowly to give the molasses adequate time to act on the produce for the extraction of juices from the particles of green produce. Because of this arrangement, the molasses is enabled to exercise its hygroscopic qualities in bringing the moisture to the surface of the particles of produce tofacilitate evaporation in the manner already described;

From the apron conveyor 20 the mixture of produce and molasses passes to the elevating conveyor 2| which feeds hopper 6 of the dehydrating machine.

As already noted, the fact that the plant pores have been opened and that the juices have been brought to the surface of the plant particles by the molasses, greatly facilitates the action of the heated gases on the moisture'in the dehydrating mechanism. It is possible to use lower temperatures than would otherwise be required and thereby to preserve to a greater degree than has heretofore been possible, the nutritious food substances in the plants, including vitamins, which are altered or destroyed by the presence of excessive heat.

As an example of the operation of the molasses in this regard, it may be stated that if green alfalfa having approximately an eightyper cent moisture content iswrung by hand, it is only possible to extract three or four per cent of the moisture, whereas, if the same alfalfa is first mixed with molasses and then wrung by hand, its moisture content can be reduced from eighty per cent to sixty five or seventy per cent, and apparently without extracting as much of the chlorophyl or nutritious juices of the alfalfa.

I It is further found that in the presence of the molasses there is little or no tendency for the surfaces of the green produce to becoine hard and dry (virtually case hardened) in the manner sometimes noted in dehydration in the absence of molasses. of the molasses not only extracts and brings to the surface the juices of the plant material, but also opens the pores thereof.

' The moisture content of the green produce may average 75%, while the moisture content of molasses is approximately making the moisture content of the mixture less than that of the usual wet produce entering the dryer. No moisture or diluted molasses will drip or run out of mixture. Because of the thorough incorporation of the molasses in the mixture, the molasses will not burn on or stick to drum of the conventional dryer, especially if drying is done under partial vacuum as in the machine disclosed. In the rapid evaporation of moisture from a wet product the tendency is to cool the product being dried until moisture content is materially reduced or product nearly dry'. This process of rapidly evaporating the moisture and cooling the product retains in the product practically all of the feed nutriments without chemical or vitamin change. The water or moisture only is taken out of the product, the molasses remaining incorporated in and a part of the dried product.

The drying operation in the dehydrator may be carried to any desired degree. If the product is to be bagged, the dehydration will preferably be so regulated that the product will not be materially sticky on delivery from the machine. If the product is to be formed into bricks or blocks through some such packing device as that shown in Fig. 3, the temperature of the'machine will preferably be-so maintain that the molasses in the delivered product will be softened by the heat of the product independently of the moisture content therein, so that as the bricks cool they will not be unduly sticky but will, nevertheless, retain their form because of the heatinduced adhesion of the molasses.

N0 means has heretofore been employed to produce a brick of molasses-treated produce in which the molasses could act as a binder without being adhesive in the ultimate condition of the brick. In fact, it has been difficult to make any form of brick from molasses mixed with a dried product because the amount of molasses which can be incorporated in a dry product without rendering the product objectionably adhesive, has been too small to be of value.

Figure 2 merely shows the green produce fed by means of conveyor 22 past a regulating wheel 23 beneath which molasses from jet 24 is deliv- Apparently, the hygroscopic action In all forms of the invention the molasses is preferably mixed -with green produce, which should for best results be comminuted. In all forms also, a pericdof treatment is given on belt 20 to enable the molasses to have time to extract Juices from the cells of the green produce.

The Fig. 1 construction avoids the use of the special mixer shown at Fig. 2, and requires no addition to existing apparatus other than the molasses delivery system and the treating con-' veyor 20.

While many forms of dehydrating apparatus may be used in carrying out this invention, that diagrammatically disclosed herein and more fully described in the co-pending application above referred to, is preferred for best results because it offers a convenient and practical means of employing heat and a large flow of heated gases under satisfactory regulation to produce exactly thedesired degree of dehydration and such temperatures in the discharged product as may be required for the formation of bricks or blocks.

I claim:

'1. The process of producing an edible vegetable product, said process consisting in the treatment with hfigroscopic molasses of small particles of vegetab ematter in the substantial absence of free water which is wet with moisture contained within its cells, whereby to. draw the moisture from the cells of said particles to the surfaces thereof and to draw the molasses into said cells, and subsequently dehydrating the admixture of vegetable matter and molasses.

2. The process of manufacturing an edible dehydrated food product which consists in comminuting green vegetable matter, treating the comminuted matter containing the natural juices of growing material with molasses, and subsequently dehydrating the mixture of molasses and vegetable matter.

3. The process of manufacturing a dehydrated food product which consists in comminutingjuices of growth,

green produce containing normal juices of.

growth, delivering the comminuted produce through space, spraying the produce with melasses in the course of such delivery, continuing the treatment of the produce with the molasses for a period sufllcient to insure incorporation of the molasses within the cells of saidproduct and a the drawing of moisture to the surface of the produce by the molasses. and the subsequent dehydration of the mixture.

4. The process of manufacturing a dehydrated food product which consists in comminuting green produce containing in its cells the normal moisture content of growing produce, delivering the comminuted produce through space, spraying the produce with molasses in the course of such delivery, continuing the treatment of the produce with the molasses for a period sufficient to insure incorporation of the molasses within the cells ofsaid product and the drawing of moisture to the surface of the produce by the molasses, and the subsequent dehydration of the mixture in the presence of a heat sufllcient to soften the molasses (independently of a moisture" content sumciently high. to make it soft), and compressing the dehydrated mixture while warm, whereby to take advantage of the adhesive qualities of the softened molasses to produce a product which will be non-adhesive when cool.

5. The probess of manufacturing an edible dehydrated forage product which process consists in admixing molasses, with a freshly cut forage crop containing in normal amounts the exposure of said crop material to the molasses for a period sufficient to permit the molasses to enter the cells of the crop material and the hygroscopic withdrawal of juices from said cells to the surface of such material,

and the subsequent dehydration of the admixture of molasses and forage crop material to a degree suflicient to permit the handling and storage thereof.

GERALD D. ARNOLD. 

